Belt edge



Feb. 4, 1941 v Q KING 2,230,354

BELT EDGE Filed Jan; :51. 1939 I INVENTOR. P22111011 l. may,

ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFEQE BELT EDGE Application January 31, 1939, Serial No. 253,724

10 Claims.

The present invention relates to conveyor belts, and more particularly to an improved guard edge for conveyor belts constructed of Wire mesh.

Heretofore guard edges of this character were formed by bending the edges of a fiat belt through an angle of 90. Such guard edges are extremely inflexible, however, and when passing over a pulley are subjected to much greater tension than exists in the belt proper. For this reason, they can be used only with pulleys of relatively large diameter.

It has also been proposed to use guard edges made of sheet metal elements, in order to obtain flexibility, but due to their relatively large mass, such edges cause substantial heat losses when used in furnaces. Moreover, edges of this character are usually attached to the surface of the belt, and thus reduce the amount of space available for conveying material.

An object of the present invention, accordingly, is to provide an improved guard edge of high flexibility for wire mesh conveyor belts, which is light in weight, and which permits the maximum width of the belt to be utilized at all times.

Although the guard edge of the present invention may be adapted for use with a wide variety of conveyor belts now in use, it will be desirable for the sake of simplicity to describe it as applied to a wire mesh conveyor belt of the type disclosed in prior U. S. Patent No. 1,850,859. Belting of this character comprises a plurality of interlaced spiral elements into which spaced, transverse, reinforcing rods are inserted for the purpose of preventing transverse shrinkage of the belt when excessive tension is applied to it during its operation.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the reinforcing rods are each formed with a loop at one end, which lies at an angle to the rod. The loops are adapted to overlap, and since the rods are freely rotatable within the fabric, the construction provides a highly flexible guard edge which may be readily used with pulleys of relatively small diameter.

Additional objects will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the following drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a conveyor belt having a guard edge constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a view in elevation showing a section of the conveyor belt in position on a pulley; and

Figure 3 is a view in perspective of a reinforcing rod having a guard edge element formed thereon.

The conveyor belt as shown in Figure 1, comprises a plurality of interlaced spiral coils II]. The free ends of the adjacent coils ID are looped together as shown at II, so that a continuous sheet of fabric is formed. Between each of the adjacent loops II a reinforcing rod I2 is inserted into the fabric for the purpose of preventing transverse shrinkage of the belt when the tension applied to its ends is excessive, as explained above.

Each of the reinforcing rods I2 has formed at one end thereof a laterally extending loop I3 which forms an element of the guard edge. As shown in greater detail in Figure 3, the loop I3 comprises two portions I4 and I5 substantially symmetrically disposed about, and perpendicular to the reinforcing rod I2. The portion. I5 is slightly offset with respect to the portion I4 in order that the adjacent loops I3 may overlap to provide a substantially continuous guard edge as shown in Figure 1. v The adjacent loops I3 forming the guard edge are preferably spaced apart a distance greater than the spacing of the rods I2. Thus, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, loops I3 may be secured to alternate rods I2, and the symmetrical portions I4 and I5 of each loop I3 may be made substantially equal in length to the distance between alternate rods I2, the portion Id of one loop I3 being adapted to be received within the offset portion I 5 of the adjacent loop I3, and flush with its portion I4. By reason of this construction, it will be apparent that the guard edge Will remain continuous even where the belt is used with end pulleys of small diameter.

Moreover, the adjacent loops I3 forming one guard edge, are secured to alternate rods I2 lying between the alternate rods I2 to which the loops I3 forming the other guard edge are secured. Hence, the two guard edges of the belt are entirely independent, and the loops I3 in each are freely movable with the rods I2 to which they are secured.

The reinforcing rods I2 may be held securely in position in any desired manner. For example, they may be crimped as shown at I6 and I! in order to prevent their being withdrawn from the fabric once the latter has been assembled. The rods I2 may also be secured within the fabric by welding them to one or more of the spiral coils III as shown at I8. The position at which the rods I2 are secured within the wire mesh is such that the symmetrical portions I4 55 and I5 of the loops l3 are adapted to rest on adjacent loops II as shown in Figure 1, so that the elements of the guard edge are held against rotation so long as the belt itself is flat.

It will be noted that where the reinforcing rods l2 are held within the fabric by means of the crimped portions I6 and I1, they may rotate freely within the fabric, and since the offset portion l5 and the portion [4 of the adjacent loops l3 are overlapped and are not connected to one another, a continuous guard edge may be readily maintained even where the conveyor belt is used on end pulleys of relatively small diameter as shown in Figure 2. Even where the rods l2 are welded on one of the spiral coils III of the fabric as at I8, the guard edge formed by the elements I3 is still extremely flexible because of the fact that the coils [0 may be readily moved with respect to one another as when the fabric passes around the end pulleys.

As shown in detail in Figure 3, the guard edge elements may be formed integrally with the reinforcing rods l2, in which case a continuous wire rod is used, which may be bent at one end to form the loop l3, having the symmetrical portions l4 and [5. It will be noted that when the guard edge is so constructed, it is extremely light in weight, so that it may be used in heating furnaces and ovens without the undesirable heat loss which usually occurs when guard edges of sheet metal are used. Moreover, it will be apparent that the loop l3 may be so formed as to provide a guard edge of any desired height.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the invention provides a guard edge which is extremely flexible, light in weight and simple in construction. By reason of the fact that a plurality of overlapping wire loops are used in its construction, each rotatable about a transverse axis through the fabric, the guard edge may be readily and effectively used with pulleys of relatively small diameter.

As indicated above, the invention is not to be limited to the use of the improved belt edge with fabric formed in accordance with the design illustrated, since its adaptability to other types of belt fabric will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Further, it will be evident that the improved belt edge is susceptible of numerous changes in form and detail within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A guard edge for conveyor belts comprising a plurality of transverse rods inserted into the fabric of the belt, each of said rods having at one end thereof a loop disposed at an angle to the rod, and the adjacent loops being adapted to overlap.

2. A guard edge for conveyor belts, comprising a plurality of transverse rods inserted into the fabric of the belt, each of said rods terminating at one end thereof in a loop, the loop having a portion defining a plane at an angle to the rod, and a second portion offset with respect to said first portion, and the adjacent loops being adapted to overlap.

3. A guard edge for conveyor belts comprising a plurality of transverse rods inserted into the fabric of the belt, each of said rods terminating at one end thereof in a loop, the loop having a portion defining a plane at an angle to the rod, and a second portion offset with respect to the first portion, said portions of the loop being symmetrically disposed about the rod and being adapted to abut the edge of the belt, and the adjacent loop portions being adapted to overlap.

4. In a conveyor belt formed of a plurality of interlaced spiral coils, a guard edge comprising a plurality of rods adapted to be inserted between adjacent interlaced coils of the belt, each of said rods having at one end thereof a loop defining a plane substantially perpendicular to the rod.

5. In a conveyor belt formed of a plurality of interlaced spiral coils, the adjacent ends of which are looped together, a guard edge comprising a plurality of rods adapted to be inserted between adjacent interlaced coils of the belt, each of said rods having a loop formed at one end thereof defining a plane at an angle to the rod, said loop having opposite portions symmetrically disposed about the rod, and being adapted to be retained in position by the looped ends of adjacent coils of the belt.

6. In a conveyor belt formed of a plurality of interlaced spiral coils, and having rods inserted between adjacent interlaced coils, a guard edge comprisinga plurality of loops secured to alternate rods, each of said loops having two portions, symmetrically disposed about the rod to which it is secured, and one of said portions being offset with respect to the other, whereby the adjacent loops will overlap to form a continuous edge.

'7. In a conveyor belt formed of a plurality of interlaced spiral coils, and having rods inserted between adjacent interlaced coils, a guard edge comprising a plurality of loops secured to alternate rods, each of said loops having two portions, symmetrically disposed about the rod to which it is secured, one of said portions being offset with respect to the other, and said loop portions being substantially equal in length to the distance between alternate rods, whereby the adjacent loops will overlap to form a continuous edge.

8. In a conveyor belt formed of a plurality of interlaced spiral coils, and having rods inserted between adjacent interlaced coils, a guard edge comprising a plurality of loops secured to alternate rods, each of said loops having an offset portion into which a portion of an adjacent loop is adapted to be received.

9. A conveyor belt comprising a plurality of interlaced spiral coils having transverse rods extending therebetween, a plurality of laterally extending loops secured to alternate rods at one end only thereof, each of said loops having an offset portion into which a portion of an adjacent loop is adapted to be received, said loops forming a guard edge adjacent and abutting each edge of the belt.

10. A conveyor belt comprising a plurality of interlaced spiral coils having transverse rods extending therebetween, the ends of the coils being looped together, a plurality of laterally extending loops secured to alternate rods at one end only thereof, each of said loops having an offset portion into which a portion of an adjacent loop is adapted to be received, and the loops being adapted to be retained in position by adjacent coil loops, the loops on the rods forming a guard edge adjacent and abutting each edge of the belt.

VERNON C. KING. 

